Veggie Cooking: Baked Buffalo Cauliflower Wings

Don't let Bertie's expression fool you, he was also impressed by the final product! (11/11/17)

Attempting to maintain a less cruel diet, I haven't eaten meat, fish or chicken since July 1. While I have also tried to reduce/eliminate products harvested from animals, by replacing animal milk with Almond for example, a satisfactory replacement for some favorites has thus far eluded me. By far the two animal-product-based meals I most miss eating are ice cream and chicken wings. With the ice cream absence addressed by a delicious banana-almond milk-peanut butter smoothie, the chicken wing "loss" is one that often aches at my gut, especially on Sundays.

After recently enjoying some baked cauliflower buffalo wings at a local vegetarian eatery, I sought to duplicate the epicurean experience at home. Fortunately an easy to prepare recipe for Baked Buffalo Cauliflower Wings online at Gimmedelicious.com was quickly found, and after carrying it around on my cell phone for a month, my tummy prompted me to action. On this wintry November afternoon, Bertie, our English Springer Spaniel puppy, and I set about making our first batch.

I am an unremarkable cook, choosing rather a clichéd path of learned helplessness when it comes to the kitchen. Even with this culinary handicap, I found this recipe remarkably easy to prepare, in addition to being incredibly rewarding. That the sauce consisted of two favorite ingredients (butter and Red Hot) was a bonus.

A key ingredient: classic Frank's Red Hot! (11/11/17)

Baked once in batter for 20 minutes. (11/11/17)

At this point Bertie had other plans. (11/11/17)

Twenty more minutes after being drizzled with buttery Frank's. (11/11/17)

Plated and ready to SLAY! (11/11/17)

The final product proved an excellent gustatory eexperience. Though too spicy for milady, my stepson and I quickly gobbled down the order of "wings" with a side of dressing. The crispiness of the twice-baked flowerets was solid and the overall flavor VERY reminiscent of the far less fowl-friendly original on which it is based. I am excited to have discovered, and actually tried, a recipe from GimmeeDelicious and look forward to attempting another cauliflower recipe, the Sticky Honey Sriracha Cauliflower “Wings” in the very near future!

Makin' Granola!

Finished product (with skim milk) prior to entering my belly. (6/30/14)

Recently, while stopping off at the local megalo-mart for groceries, I attempted to place a bag of packaged granola in the cart for purchase. My wife, who has recently taken to making her own yogurt, suggested that we should try making our own granola too. Back to the shelf went the packaged granola and onto the web went my wife as she pulled up the most basic granola recipe she could find, quickly determining which ingredients we already had and what needed to be purchased. Though I tried to balk at the idea of making something I could simply purchase, my wife assured me that it was very difficult to screw-up the making of granola.

Mom's Best Granola from AllRecipes.com was the first search result to come up and so was the one we prepared. As with most recipes, and especially one's as flexible as granola, I did tailor ingredients to suit my own (admittedly basic) tastes.

Dry ingredients: Rolled oats, wheat germ, raisins, coconut, sunflower seeds, and sugar. (6/29/14)

Wet ingredients: vanilla extract, vegetable oil, boiling water, (6/29/14)

Dry and wet mixed together (with some cinnamon added for good measure)! (6/29/14)

Into the oven. (6/29/14)

Ready to eat. (6/29/14)

The final product (as seen at the top of the post) was very tasty. While flavorful, the texture was further improved by the addition of raisins and, after cooking, banana slices. This issue of texture is one I have with most granola that do not include fruit, and not a function of this particular recipe. My wife was, not surprisingly, also correct in asserting the ease with which the granola can be prepared: it was very easy to do, requiring little more than mastery of dry and wet measuring cups and an adequately supplied pantry. As an added preparation bonus for the cooking impaired--or those like I who successfully feign the inability to cook--it is very difficult to overcook granola.

During the course of the summer weeks ahead, I'm hoping to try some different recipes. in search of one that hits the right mark, and "Mom's Best Granola" was definitely a good place to start!

Compostin'!

Something wicked is boiling in the pit! (6/03/13)

I had an early start this year to preparing the gardens. Unfortunately, that early start no longer seems so "early" and I am left needing to re-weed and return eh garden beds before planting any vegetables. I did, however, spend last evening tending to our compost pit, which in some way equates to gardening. Despite the appearance in the picture above, I had already weeded the nascent beds once, but as you can see, will need to do so again before formally kicking off my summer break gardening season.



Guess who didn't eat their green apple in tehir lunch last week. (6/03/13)

Currently, we use a Deluxe Pyramid Composter. The lid is hinged so you can open it with one hand, yet it can’t blow away though I use a brick to keep any prying critters from gaining entry. It is fairly large and surpassingly unassuming, holds nearly 12 cubic feet. A quick look inside revealed that it was time to turn over the cuttings in anticipation of using some fresh compost in the next few weeks. The interior did not just look unpromising, it was downright gross!



Coconut coire bricks + rainwater = satisfying garden experinece. (6/03/13)

Because there has not been many grass clippings to add to the composter in recent weeks, there is clearly a need to add some "greens" or, more specifically, "browns." Once the grass grows more fully, I should have more clippings to mix into the composter. Until then, we'll rely on the coconut coir bricks that my wife bought last year. Using the coir also gives me a chance to use the rain water recently collected in our rain barrel. It has been rainy of late and it is a satisfying exercise to use the rain water in tending our composting pit.




Mixing in the re-hydrated coir. (6/03/13)

Coir is the coarse fibers extracted from the outer shell of a coconut.  Last spring, my wife ordered a large box of "bricks." from an oknline garden store. By soaking the compressed bricks, they expand 5 to 7 times in volume. The intnetion is to use the carbon-rich coir to mainatin the approiate balance necessary fro compsointg nitrogen-rich kitchen scraps in the compost pile. Ideally, this also speeds up the composting process and improves the quality of the compost.

Niiiice! (6/03/13)

The dark, nutrient rich lower levels of the compost pit would seem to indicate that things are working rather well. I have done my best to turnover and add coir during the winter months, though other activities often get in the way.

(6/03/13)

If you were to explore any number of online gardening catalogs, you would find many bells-and-whistles available for purchase that are made to appear as though they are necessary for good composting. One such item would be the tabletop composter bags. We have a ceramic table top composter in our kitchen that we empty into the larger, outdoor compositor once or twice weekly. Ina n effort to make this transfer easier (and less messy), we purchased some decomposing bags.

Unfortunately, after two years of use, and multiple opportunities to pick them out of the compost heap, I have come to the conclusion that, despite the fact that these bags will decompose, the rate at which they do makes them more of a nuisance than a help. At this point the practice is this: when turning over the pit, I extract and collect the partially decompsing bags and dispose of them in the traditional waste basket. There, they can decompose slowly and not impair my ability to turn over the contents more easily.

Given the rich brown dirt, I am very excited to properly further prep and plant our vegetable gardens, an activity I look very forward to continuing in earnest this coming weekend.

Yippee-FRY-Yay!

Though hardly a valuable collector's item,
yet, this is still a pretty cool little memento.

Last year at this time, my stepson, wife and I travelled to Washington, D.C., and Boston to make some college visits. While he ultimately decide to go elsewhere (Columbia), we did greatly enjoy our time touring around the sites and monuments each city had to offer. While cleaning out some shelves in my office today, I came across an odd "memento" that had been stashed away from our road trip: a Roy Rogers Round Up French fry holster.

Because Roy Rogers Restaurants are incredibly rare in upstate New York, relegated to only a few thruway food courts, I'd had no prior experience with fries packed into a holster. While it certainly did not seem very functional beyond its primary purpose, and though I quickly thought better of my initial inclination to strap the holster to my belt, I did like the Western flair of the packaging.

On the History Guffaw website, I also found the Rogers specific term "holster fries" that appropriately captures the product-packaging synergy of the Rogers fries. Resembling a child's toy holster, with details right down to rivets and stitching (befitting a clear allusion to the popular Roy Rogers Flash-Draw Holster outfits such as the one seen here from the 1940s), the fry holster itself definitely offers a visual reminder of yesteryear. Perhaps because, as one blog I came across suggested, this was the manner in which the restaurant's namesake ate his own french fries, directly from a holster, this gimmick seems to have stuck.

One has to wonder though, with the politicized nature of gun ownership and perceived influence of "violent" first and third person shooters (video games), how much longer Roy Rogers' will pack their fried taters this way. Despite the fact that this particular holster is only intended for use as a french fries delivery system (rather than a firearm), clocking in at 546 calories does seem to suggest the contents therein may pack a strong dietary wallop and, if eaten in large amounts, could also be fatal!

K-Cup Conundrum

Though the appearance and taste is comparable (relative to flavor) the difference is in the design and materials.

Two years ago, for my birthday, my wife bought a Keurig single cup coffee maker for our kitchen. As someone who would often make a whole pot of coffee before work only to leave much of it behind to waste, it was a great purchase. Conscientious about material waste, we would collect the used k-cups and separate the "parts" for recycling every week or so (with grounds going into our table top composter for later addition to the larger outdoor one).

Shortly after the expiration of the patent on k-cups expired, our local (now regional) mega-lo shopping mart, Wegmans, started offering their own brand of store brand k-cups. (Much like national chain Trader Joe's, more and more frequently Wegmans is stocking store shelves with store brands of popular products rather than those with a higher level--and presumably higher price--of national name recognition brands.) Because they are priced lower than the national brand, they, like other store brand alternatives, are a potentially attractive purchase. Even better, when it comes to taste, the quality is very comparable to the more expensive brew. This is, of course, a good thing.

The downside comes when one is attempting to recycle the k-cups. As I cannot envision myself becoming a K-cup creative crafter, this is an important part of my purchasing process.



Wegmans brand Decaf k-cups.

Issues of taste aside (I am by no means a coffee connoisseur, so if there is a discernible difference in taste between Wegmans and Keurig's coffees, it is lost on me), the differences in packaging are only slightly visible to the eye, but moreso to the touch. The texture of the top gives away the truth that Wegmans uses a plastic top as opposed to Keurig's foil one. The cups themselves seem to be of similar design and composition.

Keurig brand Donut House k-cups.

Keurig addresses possible concerns around the environmental impact of their k-cups under the "" page of their website:

The manufacturing requirements of the K-Cup® pack currently make recycling difficult. The K-Cup® pack is made up of three main elements: the cup itself, a filter and an aluminum foil top. The pack's components prevent oxygen, light and moisture from degrading the coffee. Without the barrier the packaging materials provide, we could not maintain quality or freshness. However, we are actively working to meet the challenge of creating a pack that reduces environmental impact and continues to deliver an extraordinary cup of coffee.

Despite the challenge of matching the convenience of k-cup coffees with the desire to produce a product that is recyclable, Kuerig's product is at least relatively easy to disassemble for recycling purposes.

Wegmans k-cup post-mortem.

The plastic(?) top is difficult to remove without cutting with scissors. There are fibrous connective material that makes pulling it off easily very difficult. The small filter inside the cup also seems t be made of some sort of plastic mesh. This is also very challenging to neatly (and quickly remove) without cutting. Additionally, the glue used to adhere the filter to the edges is very strong.

Keurig k-cup post-mortem.

Two distinguishing features of the Keurig design are the small paper filter glued around the edges of the cup and the aluminum foil lid covers the top of the K-Cup. These are clearly composed of different material than those produces and sold by Wegmans and it is these different elements that the most significant difference is present. While the taste of the coffees may be similar, the ease with which one can disassemble the components for recycling is not.

While the foil top and paper filter are fairly easy to separate from the plastic cup, those plastic elements of the Wegmans k-cup are not. This occurred to me when I tried to prepare the stack of Wegmans k-cups I had set aside and realized that what had been, at best, a ten minute activity with Keurig's product became a much more arduous task that after 20+ minutes I had honestly lost the patience to follow-though on. Additionally, in Monroe County, New York, where we live, the aluminum foil tops are recyclable. The guidelines around the same potential for the plastic covers is not so clear on the county's website.

Since the Keurig coffee maker is here to stay in our household, in an effort to save time, frustration, as well as to remain as recycle-friendly as possible, we have continued to spend the extra money to get those cups that are more easily recyclable rather than the less expensive and cheaper Wegmans brand.

Sources:
Are K-Cups Recyclable? by Heath Robert, Demand Media.
Wegmans, Kodak and K-Cups by Rachel Barnhart, The Rochesterian.

Rinsing Tins: A Reflection on Family

On my journey toward being a stronger, more vital part of my larger community, I sometimes lose sight of the "community" that is most important to me. It is all well and good (and necessary) to care for the environment, act in a manner that considers future generations, and make a conscious effort to improve the conditions for those less fortunate, but this morning I'm taking a moment to reflect on my family.

As we (my wife and children) build strength, fall down, and get back up--I strive to commit to the knowledge that without the support of one another, the journey will be much more difficult... and significantly less interesting.

The challenge in being a true partner in any relationship is acting on this understanding through right action and behavior, rather than thinking about how we hope to be supportive of one another. The little things do matter and the simplest of considerations can have a powerful impact on relationships.

Last week, I made dinner with my wife. A small thing, for sure, but in the context of our relationship, a shift. I opened cans, set the table, she prepped the ingredients, and so on... I don't often help while she is preparing a meal; truth is when making meals we both work pretty independently. But in the rinsing of the aluminum cans and slicing of the bread there is a magic in completing these activities in the presence of someone you care about. It is as if the proximity makes special the mundane chores.

Some of my best memories are of my wife and I working in the garden together and making meals. I continue to seek these opportunities to act together in our shared place; despite the reality that we exist for a time each day in times and places dealing with those responsibilities "outside" our union... though attempting to increase and make the best of the small moments we have together.

The (Abbreviated) Training Week That Was...

With Spring Break here, I finally returned to a training regiment (of sorts) and while a completely realize that two consecutive days of running a short loop n a neighborhood does not technically count as a routine, it is a start and I'm taking the small victories where I can.

This is what went down this past week:

Monday thru Friday: Resting on Laurels
Saturday: 3.2 miles
Sunday: 3 miles

TOTAL MILEAGE: R 6.2 miles
Weigh-In*: 198.5 lbs. [* @ 6:30 a.m. on 4/18/11]

Running this past weekend only served to reinforce an understanding that I have long held... the ability to be in the moment of a run is seriously complicated by my lack of discipline in matters culinary. I have been eating like a horse in recent weeks months(?) and as a result I am carrying about 20 lbs. more than I was last September (my weight this morning is the heaviest its been in almost a year!). While some of this can possibly be forgiven as the Winter bump, I am consciously aware of moments when I have been in the "gullet zone"...

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

HU/2V/1SO/1C = Strike 2, Bruegger's!

HU/2V/1SO/1C = Strike 2, Bruegger's! Following last week's startling revelation that mega-lo-baker Bruegger's will be discontinuing production of the Sun-dried Tomato Bagel, I made another terrible discovery while ordering coffee this morning.

I had an early start to my Good Friday vacation day as I drove my wife to the airport (she's going to Denver to visit her ailing brother), so I decided to stop by a Bruegger's on the way home for coffee and maybe a sandwich. While waiting in line (this was not the location I frequent), I instinctively looked through the menu of offerings to identify my "usual"--a Mediterranean Sandwich (ingredients: hummus, sun-dried tomato spread, muenster cream cheese, lettuce & red onion), pictured to the right.

I must have had a puzzled look on my face as I could not readily find what I was looking for and the gentlemen working the counter (who was a very amiable lad) inquired as to whether or not I needed some help.

"Do you still have the Mediterranean Sandwich?" I asked.

"No," he kindly responded,"We no longer offer that as a sandwich, but we can still make it."

I asked for my preferred sandwich on the less than flavorful plain bagel (I used to get the sandwich on a Sun-dried Tomato Bagel--natch!). All seemed to be as it had always been until I made my way to the cashier (also very nice) who needed to be assisted by the first gentleman who walked her through pricing the sandwich as individual parts (HU/2V/1SO/1C) rather than as a single menu item. He also informed her that," Now that corporate is switching over systems, we'll have to enter all the parts separately."

What really was disappointing (but, alas, none too surprising) is that a previously reasonable priced hummus sandwich which had cost only about $4.39 when the customer (moi) was charged for a "Mediterranean," now cost just over a dollar more!

Thanks a lot Bruegger's!

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Fruit-ku

A post-work week snack haiku crafted on the ride home:

crunch of tooth breaking
taut apple skin over soft
flesh, tart to taste--YUM!

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Adventures in Whole Foods Cooking: Recipe 1

In a cookbook without pictures you can't select
recipes based on how the "kitchen lab-produced" dish looks.
For the past few weeks months I have stop-started refining my limited cooking skills. Nearly two weeks ago, my wife suggested I buy a whole foods cookbook and begin working through those recipes because they should be 1) healthy and 2) most importantly, relatively easy. Though it seemed a cliched idea, I thought it might be fun to work through an entire cookbook, maybe doing some with my son(s) or wife. First, however, I wanted to go solo.

I've had afresh purchased copy of The Whole Foods Market® Cookbook: A Guide to Natural Foods with 350 Recipes waiting on my shelves waiting for the day to begin attempting to work some culinary magic and with zero "kid activities" scheduled for this evening, I set about putting together a dish for our dinner.

I first settled on three potential pasta dishes (anyone can boil water, right?) and scanned the pantry for what ingredients we might be lacking. Fortunately, I have many bottle to return, so I made a list of ingredients and went to the supermarket to "kill" two birds with one stone. I figured that f I identified the most "exotic" key ingredients for each potential meal, the one I found first would be the guinea pig dish.

First up, from "Pasta and Other Warming Starches," Spelt Penne with Peas and Walnuts:


Due to the absence of some of the more "exotic" ingredients (spelt?)at my local megalo-mart, some substitutions were made, such as kashi standing in for spelt.

I also added some green beans to the peas. Anne had recently "harvested" a large bowl from the garden, so I improvised.

Mmmmm... toasted walnuts! Though I was unsure how others (and myself) would like nuts in our pasta, it went over surprisingly well.

Here is everything all put together in our electric frying pan (doing its best large saute pan impersonation).
The final result (pictured at the top of the post, was very well received by my wife and son. Some of us added Parmesan cheese once it was plated, and there was plenty (intended to serve 6) left over for lunches tomorrow.

Only 349 more recipes to go!

The Training Week That Was... 6/8-6/14

With no computer/Internet access of late, I have been spending more time preapring and training. Only three more weeks until the the Finger Lakes Fifties and I'm feeling more and more confident of my ability to finish with each passing day of training (even though I've passed a few days without training!).

Here is what took place this past week with my training:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 4.9 miles @ 7:50 min/mile pace
Wednesday: Rest--Missed Training Day!
Thursday: 9.6 miles @ 7:40 min/mile pace
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 20.7 miles @ 8:24 min/mile pace
Sunday: 9.6 miles @ 7:57 min/mile pace

TOTAL MILEAGE: R 44.8 miles (-6.2 miles from the previous week)
Weigh-In*: 185.0 lbs. (-2 lbs.) [* @ 5:30 a.m. on 6/15/09]

It has been about three weeks since, following a steady weening off period, I stopped eating read meat and chicken (currently, I am still enjoying tuna fish) and I feel great. Oddly, I feel as though I eating more food, just healthier food. I've also increased my intake of healthy nuts (cashews, almonds, etc.) and begun eating a protein bar every few days and after runs.

Thus far, my body (and especially my legs) feels wonderful!

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Welcome Back Fave Bagel o' Mine!

In a previous post, I lamented the passing of my favorite Bruegger's bagel, the Sun-Dried Tomato bagel, from its menu. Now, three or so weeks later I am happy to announce its triumphant return to the bin!

This morning before work, when I stopped at my neighborhood Bruegger's to get a cup of coffee, I quickly glanced over the shelves of fresh bagels looking for something to bring for breakfast... boy was I glad to see the (at one time) familiar phrase "Sun-dried Tomato" scrawled on a white piece of a paper and adhered to the mesh basket.

I promptly ordered up a bagel (uncut with no cream cheese, thank you!) and went on my way. It occurred to me , only minutes later as I was making my way down the expressway to school, to inquire as to the reasoning behind the change of heart... and, perhaps more importantly, whatever this change in menu was permanent or simply short term--as the "hand made" sign might suggest.

No matter, though, given this fortunate (personal) turn of culinary events, I find it necessary to alter my previous closing comment: DARN PRAISE CORPORATE AMERICA FOR TAKING AWAY BRINGING BACK MY FAVE BAGEL!

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Sitting, Day 23 (and Eating Mindfully, Too?)

Seung Sahn would say, "When you eat, just eat. When you read the newspaper, just read the newspaper. Don't do anything other than what you are doing."
One day a student saw him reading the newspaper while he was eating. The student asked if this did not contradict his teaching. Seung Sahn said, "When you eat and read the newspaper, just eat and read the newspaper."~From Essential Zen

On today, the seventeenth of the Tricycle's Big Sit, I find myself steadfastly continuing my streak of "sitting" daily and also occasionally varying the length (15-20 minutes) and position (sitting on a chair, kneeling, cross legged). Some days I get the sense that the time at which I sit (mornings at 5:00 a.m.) does help me establish an open mindset for a positive day, while on other days I seem to lose sight of the "progress" the further I get away from the experience and my choices (diet and action) falls farther from the ideals put forth in the precepts.

One facet of my life I have endeavored to improve upon (by virtue of the fact that I daily vow to do so) is in eating more mindfully.

Truthfully, though, when I get home from work sometimes I find myself overcome with a hunger desire to stuff my face with whatever is on hand, clearly avoiding any thought of being in the moment of what I eat. When the flash passes I am left only with embarrassment and guilt at my failure, which eventually (re)turns to a commitment to "try" again the next day.

In an effort to further reign in my eating habits to benefit both my meditation and running, I have considered once again maintaining a dietary log of what I and when I eat during the course of a day. While the process of doing so can become monotonous and repetitive, it does help me to see more concretely the missteps I am taking and could (I suppose) assist me in correcting my errors. I will maintain this "diary", as I have in the past, for a few days to get a more comprehensive picture and see if I can't make my meals more meaningful in the process.

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Run Like a Tarahumara?

"In order to catch such wild animals as deer, wild turkeys, and rabbits, the Tarahumara simply chase after the animal until the animal drops from exhaustion... ranchers have been known to hire the Indians to chase down wild horses."

With the cold, wintry weather here (a common theme on this blog of late, I know), I am becoming aware of just how much comfort I am finding in eating... especially those things which I would normally eat, though in increasingly larger quantities. Each Winter I tend to "pack on" a few more pounds as my training diminishes, though it doesn't feel like my "down time" is increasing.

While the concept of diet/nutrition is never far from my mind, the fervor with which I address the inadequacies of both is usually more intense prior to a marathon as I am doing my best at that moment to prepare myself for the trauma of running 26.2 miles. While there is no marathon anywhere near the horizon (and if anything it is moving even farther away in the rear view mirror), I have been giving the thought of improving my nutrition or even detoxifying my body, perhaps via a targeted fast or some other adjustment in diet.

While researching online about dietary strategies, I found my ongoing curiosity about primitive cultures also satiating when I took the proverbial "right turn at Albuquerque" and came across the article What Can the Tarahumara Indians Tell Us About the Importance of Running Long Distances? on ModernForager.com. (FYI--The Tarahumaras' word for themselves, Raramuri, means "runners on foot" in their native tongue!)

Among the positive points of personal interest: the Tarahumara have a diet of predominantly corn, beans, and squash, and (as inferred in the quote at the top of the post), they are keen on running animals to death. (A picture of the Tamahura "running gear," aka a huarache sandal, is pictured to the right.) Perhaps most salient to the topic of nutrition is the fact that their diet, "while very high carb (to the tune of 80% carbs, 10% protein, and 10% fat) is made of real foods. They aren’t gnoshing on low-fat pseudo-foods and processed garbage."

Of course, the severe downside is that the Tarahumara have a life expectancy of only about 44 years old. Of course, this is likely due more to their lack of access to modern medicine than there running lifestyle... one that based on this quickie research (other than reminding myself of the health benefits of reducing or eliminating processed foods and sticking to real-er ones) I will not be adopting anytime soon!

Thus I will continue to while my Winter (and let's be honest--Summer, too) months as "runner on foot with slight winter paunch" which has no cool, esoteric translation my barely native tongue...

Shopping (and Thinking) Local

As we often do on Sunday morning's, Anne and I went shopping for some groceries this morning at one of the local Farmer's Markets. We in the River City community are fortunate, as there are at least four days a week during which there is a Farmers Market open. Within bicycling (or a short automobile drive) distance there are vendors (and the occasional folk singer/band) offering local produce and baked goods, in addition to jams, honey and grass-fed beef.

This morning, we purchased only two squash (which we also recently harvested from our small garden) and potatoes. ON our way home, we stopped by the neighborhood cooperative market for some other things, such as soap and coffee. While there, I was pleased to noticed that the coop has been identifying clearly on shelves which products are locally produced. There were a number of different products (in addition to breads and vegetables which are "unmarked," but obviously grown or baked locally), including jellies and a variety of nut butters to name a few.

As I have begun reading Plenty, by Smith and McKinnon, one of the concerns the authors' had early on while setting out to maintain a 100 mile diet, was how much variety they could hope to find in a regional diet. While marveling at the label for a locally produced plain yogurt, I got to thinking: If one hundred miles is one "standard" for determining "local-ness," I wonder how far the large the diameter of one-hundred mile circle would be on a map with River City (where we live) as it's center point? Just what products, vendors and farms qualify as local if I were to eat a 100 mile diet?

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Organic Dead-Ani-Gurt... BLECHHH!

I've once again decided against eating any meat products and I now have a response to the question as to "why?" that my students and family can more fully understand. Last week in the mail my wife received a coupon on the mail from our local "family-market-cum-megalo-mart" announcing both their new "organic" yogurt and the fact that, as favored customers, we could have six free cups of the stuff. (Yes, I mean "stuff.")

While shopping two evenings ago, Anne selected six flavors of the organic yogurt and brought them home, and as I often do, I brought one with me to work yesterday morning to eat just before my first class of the day. I always enjoy eating well in front of my students as for many of them it is the only opportunity they have to inquire about the exotic things I eat: fresh vegetables, fruits with skin, yogurts, beans, etceteras. I shared proudly that these organic yogurts had recently found their way to our house and that they (the yogurts) were great tasting (at least the raspberry one I was eating was).

Gosh, was I misinformed. When my wife educated later that evening, I'm not so sure I'm glad she did...

It pays to read the nutrition labels, as the devil is in the details. Apparently the lovely tasting organic yogurt was in fact dead-animal-gurt, which is to say among the ingredients included in the "yogurt" were BEEF, TILAPIA, ANCHOVIES AND SARDINES. I may be completely overreacting but the organic raspberry yogurt included as part of its ingredients BEEF, TILAPIA, and ANCHOVIES AND SARDINES.

When she shared this information with me, all I could envision was a big blender within which was dropped the remains from previously processed animals, which would then be processed into yogurt for sale. I could not eat dinner that evening until I was sure that whatever we did eat was clean of animal product and NOT slimy or gelatinous in texture.

In retrospect, the fine people at my local mega-lo-mart may just be followng the totally normal recipe and procedures for processing organic yogurt, but this tiny piece of info on the nutrition label has pretty much assured that I'll never knowingly eat yogurt again... unless I know it to be real yogurt (whatever that is)!

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Biding My Time, Eating My Vittles

A very lazy Sunday, as I prepare to return to work tomorrow and get back into the swing of things after an enjoyable, albeit surprisingly sedentary, President's Week Recess. No yoga, snowshoeing, or walking today, but I'm looking forward to moving around tomorrow before work and giving my legs a shot this coming Wednesday--seven days after my doc suggested I take seven days off...

I've also noticed that as I have been less active this week, my overall caloric intake has been on the up tick, and I'm not talking about "good" calories, but munchies and ice cream (curse you Ben and Jerry!) and junk. Being back to business, and with much less proximity to a pantry full of food, should be a boon to my diet... and by "diet" I'm talking quality and quantity of food eaten, not necessarily pounds that need to be loss, although given the epicurean week I've had, there may be more to say about that tomorrow!

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Present Moment, Meaningful Meal

I struggle with my choice not to eat red meat. Occassionally, I'll think about "backsliding" into my red meat eating ways.

Once, it was suggested to me the idea of "mindful eating." This suggested reminded me of a slim volume I had read in college, Present Moment, Wonderful Moment: Mindfulness Verses for Daily Living by author Thich Nhat Hanh. Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist Monk who has also done some writing around a variety of topics inlcuding mindful living, as well as, the similarities between Buddha and Jesus.

In Present Moment, Hanh offers some suggestions for increasing mindfulness in eating, including the following short gatha, or "mindfulness verse":

In this food,
I see clearly the presence
of the entire universe
supporting my existence.

I often think about reconciling the conflict inherent in moving towards a vegetarian diet and the possibility of eating tuna fish. Once suggestion has been to celebrate the inherent communal nature of ingesting the food in a way that recognizes the contributions of the being to be eaten, as well as, the individual eating.

I seem to remember in my Catholic upbringing, opportunities for giving thanks prior to eating not just to my Higher Power, but also to those creatures that "gave" to the meal I was about to eat. Now, while this may seem a bit esoteric but (stay with me), when one chooses to eat something for which another thing has given of itself, is it not appropriate to celebrate that beings contribution?

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Dinnertime for Gracie

One of my best friends is our family dog, Gracie. She is a pure bred English Springer Spaniel and has been with us for almost two years. Anne and I brought her home when she was four months old, obtaining her from a breeder in Ottawa, Canada. Like most folks who do not discover the wonders of dog friendship until after thirty, I used to dread the dog hair and slobbering that I observed in others' pets. Now it is just another reality of daily life (although I must admit, it can get a little tiring sweeping up Gracie's hair from the stairway four times weekly!) Originally we had thought about competing with Gracie in conformation shows, as all of our lives became busier and busier that goal became less and less likely.

I mention Gracie because, as a responsible owner, I walk the dog at least once daily and feed her dinner each evening. To this point, I have given her Adult Iams dry food. But now, I have a problem. Some of my online research of dog food has led me to the PETA website.

The testing that Iams does on cats and dogs in the interest of testing their foods, specifically the treatment of these testing animals, is being called into question. The PETA campaign revolves around a boycott of Iams products by many of the stakeholders in the pet food business. As reported on the PETA run website IamsCruelty.com:

Showing a groundswell of support for the boycott of Iams products, over 100 animal shelters, veterinarians, and companion-animal supply stores have severed their ties with Iams.

The 96 shelters, 34 veterinary clinics, and 36 retail stores across the United States, Canada, and Australia are joining PETA’s boycott of Iams products because Iams confines animals to cages to conduct cruel laboratory tests on them.

While giant retailers and wealthy groups like the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) have decided to profit from Iams’ abuse of animals, these shelters, vet clinics, and stores are refusing to benefit from cruelty to animals. They are insisting that Iams end its laboratory tests on animals and instead rely on humane feeding tests conducted in homes and in veterinary offices using animals volunteered by their guardians.

Further research indicates that this is only one of many practices employed by Iams in testing food that is cruel and inhumane to animals, not just cats and dogs. Given this information, Anne and I have a decision to make: Are there other safe, nutritious pet foods we can buy for Gracie that have not been tested on animals through cruel and inhumane ways? While I accept the need for strategic animal testing, I believe there is a way to do this under conditions that allow the animal to live a dignified life free of unnecessary prolonged pain.

At this point there is about four days worth of "Gracie's food" left. During this time we will make an informed decision regarding what we should and could feed Gracie, to honor our committment to feeding her healthy foods, as well as continuing to live in a way which is respectful of all animal life.

If you have any suggestions, please share them.

Fair Trade Certified "Joe" at the Co-Op

Every other week or so, Anne and I shop at the local cooperative market. Among our purchases is cofee... all kinds of flavors from Kenya, Latin America... We usually shop at the co-op to buy locally grown vegetables, natural foods, and bulk whole grain pastas with a general understanding that because we shopped at here, it was good for our local community, econonmy and our own health. Although I have bought coffee there for a while I have always (I guess) taken for granted the "Fair Trade Certified" labels on the bags. Today I took a look and read the pamphlet.

Coffee is among the most heavily traded commodities in the world, while the members of the small rural communties that produce the coffee beans live in some the poorest countries in the world. Even though these farmers are producing a crop with world-wide appeal, the isolation that comes with the poverty they experience keeps them from fulling grasping the opportunity their skills/product could create.

As explained in Equal Exchange's Fair Trade pamphlet:

Using internationally recognized fair trade standards, Equal Exchange seeks to balance the inequities found in the conventional coffee trade... Through fair trade, it can be a delicious and powerful tool to bring about positive change for small farmers and thier families.

Equal Exchange certfied coffees are available in a range of varieties (inlcuding our favorite, organic coffees). You might consider th following courses of action:

1. Visit Fair Trade Certified's website (Fairtradecertified.org) and decide for yourself.
2. Seek out and give your local cooperative market a try.
3. Have a cup of Fair Trade Certified brew and help insure that those who produce the products you enjoy are being fully compensated for the work they do!